Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol. Within minutes of his arrival, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object is discovered in the Capitol Building. The object is an ancient invitation, meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of hidden esoteric wisdom. And when Langdon's mentor is kidnapped, Langdon's only hope of saving him is to accept this invitation and follow wherever it leads him.

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Audible Editor Reviews

International best-selling novelist Dan Brown delivers the exhilarating third audiobook in his Robert Langdon series, The Lost Symbol, narrated by American actor Paul Michael. This phenomenal series has taken the world by storm. Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon hunts through hidden chambers and secret tunnels under Washington D.C to save his kidnapped mentor. He must use all his knowledge and skill to break through the codes but the task ahead seems impossible and the clock is ticking ever-closer towards danger. What Langdon never suspects is the shocking twist of truth that will change everything. Available now from Audible.

Publisher's Summary

The Lost Symbol, the stunning follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, is a masterstroke of storytelling - a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes and unseen truths...all under the watchful eye of a terrifying villain. Set within the unseen tunnels and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol. Within minutes of his arrival, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object - artfully encoded with five ancient symbols - is discovered in the Capitol Building. The object is an ancient invitation, meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of hidden esoteric wisdom. And when Langdon's mentor Peter Solomon - prominent Mason and philanthropist - is kidnapped, Langdon's only hope of saving Peter is to accept this invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon finds himself plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations...all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

The Lost Symbol is exactly what Dan Brown's fans have been waiting for...his most thrilling novel yet.

What the Critics Say

"Impossible to put down....Mr. Brown was writing sensational visual scenarios long before his books became movie material. This time he again enlivens his story with amazing imagery....Thanks to him, picture postcards of the capital's most famous monuments will never be the same....In the end it is Mr. Brown's sweet optimism, even more than Langdon's sleuthing and explicating, that may amaze his readers most." (The New York Times)"Thrilling, entertaining....Robert Langdon goes for another roller-coaster ride - this time in a hunt for a Masonic treasure in Washington, D.C." (Los Angeles Times)

I've read the daVinci Code and listened to Angels & Demons by Dan Brown so had a good idea what style of book this would be. As with the earlier books the story is full of complex explanations of symbols and historical references, this time for Masonic Orders coupled with a fast moving thriller. Much of the detail was interesting. The section about weighting the human soul was scientific bunk. As with Angles & Demons the book is marred by a boring finale of nearly an hour: in this book it's turgid religious references. It made the end of the book a damp squib.

I cannot believe I wasted so many hours of my life listening to this book!! Luckily I was walking the dogs at the time so not a total waste. What started as quite an exciting story was rapidly bogged down in way too much detail. It felt as if Dan Brown was including every piece of research he had ever done, rather than applying any filter as to what was interesting or necessary to the plot. The last 3 hours was a complete waste of time, some parts didn't even make sense. Do not buy this however much you may have enjoyed his previous books.

I really liked this book. Not as unrealistic as the others I have listened too and with some good links to real life and ideas.
Liked the end but found it carried on a little too much after the climatic end. This just knocks it off the five stars for me.

Here we go again .... In traditional Dan Brown style we are returned to the mystical world of Professor Robert Langdon and yet again he has a sexy, intelligent, companion throughout this epic adventure.
Basically, if you enjoy the Dan Brown style then you will drop lightly into the characters in this tale of the New World. The usual sysbologist aproach to the solving of a mystery, add in the usual secret societies and a touch of drama and awaay you go. Throughly enjoyable.
You will always be left with food for thought and a desire for more if you enjoyed The Davinci Code and Angels and Demons then here is the next step on the staircase.

Really enjoyed it. Lost a star because of points below (no spoilers)...

1. If your female companion declares she has decyphered an element of the puzzle, you must ask 'You understand??' incredulously as though you had always assumed her an idiot.

2. The nervous wreck Langdon will meet any mild revelation during the proceedings with such actions as staggering, knees giving way, jumping backwards or being utterly shocked.

3. There are two ways you can learn the secrets of the ages. You can either graft your way up the 33 degrees of the Masonic order over a lifetime or, alternatively, you can hand it on a platter to your brattish, spoilt, greedy and indiscreet son.

4. After you have finished your story, reserve an extra 2 hours at the end of the book to preach at the listener.

5. Make your puzzles decypherable only to the sagely initated, oh, and everyone else who has basic knowledge of art, history and architecture.

If you are a fan of Dan Brown then you won't be disappointed with this volume either. Holds your interest and has good solid info presented in his riveting style.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Christian

Christchurch, New Zealand

30/09/09

Overall

"16 hours you'll never get back ..."

I enjoy some good old airport fiction as much as the next person, but there is a limit. The characters are one dimensional - which is fine - the plot however is tissue paper thin, and this is a problem for a book that is entirely plot driven!

We stumble from one poorly realised "revelation" to another under an avalanche of portentous prose that completely fails to deliver anything like excitement or tension.

The narrator does an heroic job, but there are only so many times you can say "the ancient mysteries" and "the wisdom of the ages" before you sound like you're taking the mick. So run don't walk and look elsewhere!

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Jason

Sherborne, United Kingdom

04/01/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Why did I do this to myself?"

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Having it been written by a different author

Has The Lost Symbol turned you off from other books in this genre?

Only if I see the name Dan Brown as the author.

What about Paul Michael’s performance did you like?

He imbued emotion and read well, with clarity and didn't just use a dull plodding monotone, would happily listen to him as a reader again.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really, it was pretty much utter bilge from start to finish. The only redeeming quality is that I didn't pay full price for my misery!

Any additional comments?

I wish that I had just read this book instead of listened to it, as it would have been over in a far shorter time.

To be honest I am not entirely sure why I bothered with it in the first place, it was either idle curiosity or masochistic tendencies...or most likely both!

Any book which has you expleting audibly in exhasperation more then once (even just once would be bad enough) really cannot be recommended.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Mr

Melbourne, Australia

25/11/09

Overall

"Preposterous, in a good way"

Well, the hype surrounding "the next Da Vinci Code" actually detracted from the experience for me.

I enjoyed this book none the less, as it was pure unadulterated pulp, and pretty self aware. It didn't set out to climb literary mountains, or be worthy or clever. I seemed to be content with just telling a ripping, and totally preposterous story and trying to be entertaining with it.

I was entertained. The story was read very well, and the sound and quality were excellent.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Rn Hodgson

Alfriston Uk

04/05/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great story superbly told"

As always Dan Brown does not disappointThe story is a super mixture of fact and fiction

Waiting for the film version with Tom hanks as Richard Langton

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Carole Withane

11/02/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Another good story from dan brown, but ....."

I like the Robert Langdon character, and the semi historical nature of the plot I dan Browns stories is excellent.HoweverThis one lost itself and became unconvincing in the last few chapters. After the dramatic climax, the key scene the whole plot had been building towards, it was totally unbelievable that the cast would then wander off sightseeing and continue discussing historical contexts of religion and politics , given what they'd just been through. at the end it totally spoiled the whole experience for me.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Ian C Robertson

South Australia, Australia

25/04/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Really a 3.75"

It's always hard to review books like this one. It's not meant to be literature, so you don't want to measure it on that scale, but it's not (intended) trash either. In this pseudo cerebral, pseudo-action come whodunnit genre, it is above average, but not as good as, say, his "The Da Vinci Code". It's not at the top of the tree with some of Le Carre's classics, but it's better than the Gabriel Allon series (in my opinion, although to be fair, that's more espionage than cerebral). In the end, I've opted for the upper end, although in truth I should have "split the difference" (if that were possible) overall. Basically, this conforms to all of the formulaic traditions common to these books. There is a protagonist and an attractive assistant. there is a constant threat from a very scary individual whom appears to have no moral compass. The Chapters all end on a cliff's edge, making them perfect for serialisation (and, for that matter, for motion pictures). There is a wicked twist (although the astute of this genre will pick it early) in the tale (and tail); and there is the declamation of the little know, but startling, in the true habit of a a conspiracy theory. For all that, it is a page turner and, given its Masonic underpinning, a vaguely interesting yarn.I thought Paul Michael did a sterling job, too, especially with the evil one (Mulah) and the snaky one (Kato). The latter reminded me of the boss lady from Monsters Inc! Good fun listening.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Todd

Orange, Australia

06/01/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Hey everyone, look how much smarter I am than you!"

This is only the second Dan Brown book I’ve read/listened to. I’ve avoided his books because I’ve heard his prose is terrible. Having said that, I found “Digital Fortress” to be highly enjoyable and thought I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. I know this review is long, but bear with me. I may save you some time and money.

“The Lost Symbol” returns us to Harvard Symbologist Robert Langdon, and his search for the mythical pyramid of the Freemasons. It’s a good idea with loads of potential and the pace initially seems to be well set (it actually isn’t). As always there appears to be plenty of research put into the subject by Brown and the elements that bring the story together are very intriguing. But Brown’s greatest strength is also his most frustrating one.

Brown appears to cast himself in the role of Langdon (the all-knowing teacher) and relishes talking down to the rest of the characters (and his students), who represent the majority of the “ignorant dumb masses” that think they know things, but are sadly mistaken i.e. us. There are many scenes involving these other characters making statements about a historic building or event, only to have Langdon correct them. There is an overwhelming sense of Brown’s pomposity and condescension present when these scenes take place that it’s almost enough to make you turn off the audiobook.

The other frustrating thing Brown does is tiptoe around the big revelations of the story, making the characters spell out every step involved in deducing the big reveal instead of just getting to the bloody point. It’s like they forget they’re racing against the clock. ”I know Peter is about to die any minute and the future of the country is at stake, but let me spend 15 minutes giving you a dissertation on something…” It’s enough to make you gouge your eyes out!

Add to that the fact that certain chapters end on “big” cliffhangers and we don’t return to those scenes for some time after. It’s designed to keep you “turning the pages” until you discover the next anti-climactic irrelevant plot point, but it just ends up making you want to punch Brown in the face…repeatedly...with a shovel. Oh and did I mention Langdon seems to have become a complete moron? You’d think after his DVC and A&D adventures he would be more open-minded about things, but no. The same old scepticism first, be-shocked-and-dumbfounded-after-being-proven-wrong second, still applies.

The narrator cannot be faulted though. He sincerely gives the book his best reading and performance and does a good job of depicting the characters. But even he can’t save this train wreck.

All that being said, I nevertheless found myself swept up in the book as it approached its climax (I know right. WTF?). The character of Mal’akh is actually quite interesting, if a little too similar to Thomas Harris’ Francis Dollarhyde and a complete cliché. The book ends up being an okay read if you can stomach the negatives and the twist that many will see coming from a continent away. The last hour of the book is also unnecessary and the final revelation of the Ancient Word is a complete “That’s it?” moment. Don't waste your time.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

Raslouw, South Africa

11/09/12

Overall

Performance

Story

"Snoooozzzzzee"

What disappointed you about The Lost Symbol?

Dan Brown managed to take one character and clone him into several supporting characters. All of the main characters use the same phrases ("Patience," "I assure you") to no end.Where Angels and Demons was a fast paced adventure, this was a slow dragged out performance. Endless lists of all the various symbols and organisations, cost me hours of my life. It is quite acceptable to provide such lists but when every character thinks about them, it forces me to hear it again and again. I should however not be surprised, as Da Vinci Code lost a great deal of the momentum from Angels and Demons. Even in DVC Dan Brown managed to turn on the snooze with his insistence on providing so much "proof" that his story is no longer plausible.I am rambling...

Would you ever listen to anything by Dan Brown again?

I have not yet read Deception Point and will give it a go, purely because Angels and Demons, and Digital Fortress were two of my favourite books.

Would you be willing to try another one of Paul Michael’s performances?

Probably, he was not bad.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Frustration. I nearly did not finish it.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Aubrey

Pretoria, South Africa

04/04/12

Overall

Performance

Story

"Another Dan Brown formula"

Any additional comments?

Not original anymore. Will be good for those die hard Dan Brown fans or those who loves this type of genre. I loved Angels and Demons, but after that book its been the same formula, different city, different cult and different villain.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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